Santiago, March 3, 2021 . For Thursday, March 4 at 9:00 a.m., the vote on the bill that prohibits single-use plastics in food outlets is on the table of the Environment Commission of the Chamber of Deputies and Deputies, thus fulfilling one of the last legislative procedures before it is voted in the chamber and becomes law.
Both the deputy Ricardo Celis, president of the Chamber’s Environment Commission, and his predecessor Félix González, have given an expedited processing of the project. “Chile was already a pioneer by passing the law that banned plastic bags, and now we are moving forward with the rest of single-use plastics, which seriously affect our seas, fisheries and tourism,” said deputy Celis. For his part, Deputy González, indicated that “this is a great step since we are banning the plastics that most affect the environment, it will be a contribution to reduce waste, the generation of greenhouse gases and the use of water” .
Let us remember that in May 2019, the bill was entered by a cross – sectional group of congressmen including Senator Carolina Goic and Senators Guido Girardi, Felipe Kast, Juan Ignacio Latorre and Rabindranath Quinteros, in addition to the support provided by the deputy Catalina Pérez and deputies Luis Rocafull and Sebastián Torrealba. The proposal, prepared from a report by the organizations Oceana and Plastic Oceans Chile , seeks to ban single-use plastics used in establishments that sell food and beverages, and which are the most found on beaches and seas.
After going through the review of the Senate Environment Committee chaired by Senator Girardi, the bill was approved unanimously in the chamber in July 2020 and dispatched to the lower house.
“The bill arises from an initiative of civil society and has been supported by members of Congress and the Ministry of the Environment,” said Javiera Calisto, Director of Oceana Chile’s Marine Pollution Campaign. “It is an ambitious law, mainly because it is based on strong technical and legal foundations and prevents the generation of plastics that most threaten our coasts, seas and their marine species,” he added.
In the second half of 2020, the Environment Commission of the Chamber of Deputies and Deputies chaired at that time by Deputy Félix González, managed to vote on several of the articles of the law and now, under the presidency of Deputy Celis, it is expected his office to the Chamber room.
“We need to pass this ambitious bill to address single-use plastics effectively, and curb this problem at its source. The project will be a great contribution to the cultural change necessary to turn Chile into a more circular country, ”said Mark Mineboo, Executive Director of Plastic Oceans Chile. “Although a lot of effort is being put into recycling more and better, currently in Chile only 8.5% of all plastic is being recycled. Globally it is not much better. We cannot pretend that recycling alone is going to solve this crisis of plastic pollution, “he added.
The scope of the bill
The project seeks to limit those plastic products most found on the beaches, difficult to recycle, and that are discarded after a few minutes. The standard is aimed at establishments that sell food such as restaurants, cafeterias, cooks and other places that serve prepared food or beverages, which must offer reusable products, when consumption is made within them.
Those who sell take-out food must deliver non-plastic disposables, such as aluminum, paper, cardboard, or certified plastics. Regulated products include glasses, mugs, bowls, silverware, mixers, light bulbs, plates, sachets, and prepared meal trays.
The project also regulates plastic bottles, establishing that supermarkets, in their face-to-face and electronic sale, must offer and receive returnable bottles. For their part, disposable bottles will only be allowed if they contain recycled material in percentages that will progressively increase.
The regulations will also be applicable within the dependencies of public bodies.